British MPs voice concern for "Unlawful shooting of Tibetans"

London: An Early Day Motion under the title "Unlawful shooting of Tibetans" was tabled in the House of Commons (Lower Chamber of the British parliament) on Tuesday.

The EDM or Early Day Motions number 227 that strongly condemned "the brutal and unlawful shooting by the Chinese People's Armed Police of a group of unarmed innocent civilian Tibetans fleeing Chinese occupied Tibet when crossing the border at the Nangpa La on 30th September 2006" was introduced by member of parliament, Mr. Harry Cohen, and supported by 18 MPs.

Mr. Cohen, who belongs to the ruling Labour Party is also the chairman of the UK All Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet.

The EDM is a formal motion given by a Member of Parliament to put on record their opinion on a particular issue and draw the attention and support of other members of the parliament. Although there is little prospect of EDMs being debated, many attract a great deal of public interest and frequently receive media coverage.

In the case of the current shooting of Tibetans trying to cross the Tibet-Nepal border, the media coverage worldwide has been extensive because this time, unlike in the past, it happened to be witnessed by several Western mountainers.

The official Chinese version that their soldiers had fired at the Tibetans in "self-defence" therefore remained badly exposed when the world saw disturbing images of the actual shooting as filmed by the Roman TV cameraman and broadcast on the Romanian TV in the report: "Video footage of Nangpa Pass shooting refutes official Chinese statement".

The BBC and other global TV networks have used the same footage.

The EDM noted that the incident "resulted in the murder of a 17 year old nun Kelsang Namtso, the subsequent death of one further Tibetan and the arrest of around 30 Tibetans including children under 10 years old".

It urged the Chinese government "to conduct a full investigation into this incident and to ensure further that those responsible for any crimes committed are brought to justice, to give a formal assurance that such abhorrent and unacceptable acts will not happen again, to account for and release any Tibetans arrested as a result of this event and to confirm China's commitment to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights".

This sad development further confirms the findings about the lack of genuine religious and other freedoms in Tibet in the report by the UK Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs made public in July 2006.

In response to concerns expressed by Tibetans, members of parliament and the general public and various humanitarian organisations, the British government has said, "We are deeply concerned by this incident, and are working both bilaterally and through the EU to seek an urgent and transparent investigation by the Chinese Government".

It admits that the Chinese authorities claim that, "the border guards were acting in self defense" appear to contradict "other accounts".

The official Foreign and Commonwealth Office assurance to the public outcry on Tibet is that "The UK Government is very concerned about the situation in Tibet and monitors developments closely" and that "We continue to encourage the Chinese Government to engage in dialogue, without pre-conditions, with representatives of the Dalai Lama".

This shooting incident has again exposed the seriousness of the unresolved issue of Tibet and has motivated parliamentary discussions and moved European governments to address the issue directly with Chinese government and hold it accountable.

In response to a written parliamentary question on the Nangpa La shooting case from Mr. Olav Gunnar, who also is from the ruling government party and chairman of the Norwegian All Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet, Foreign Minister of Norway said, "We are not satisfied with the answer we have been given by the Chinese authorities on this question and we will follow up on this case through our embassy in Beijing and through our human rights dialogue with China".

According to the Norwegian Tibet Committee (TSG), both the question and answer have been made available to the public to see on Norwegian parliament website.

Report sent by the Office of Tibet, London.

  (www.tibet.net is the official website of the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.)

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